Countries Spending the Most on Health Care

7/3/2013 5:32PM

Medical costs have been rising at an alarming rate in recent years in the U.S. and in other countries. MarketWatch's Jim Jelter discusses which countries spend the most on health care. (Photo: Getty Images)

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... medical costs are ... rising at an alarming rate in recent years not just in the United States but elsewhere as well ... so which countries are spending the Most tunnel scare ... by Amgen Jelter MarketWatch ... the core in a recent report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ... health care spending has been steadily marching higher for years until about twenty attempts ... since then government spending on health care ... has flattened out reflection of the impact of the global recession on government spending in general the force over a twenty four seven Wall St to collect it this latest OECD report on its thirty four member nations which includes the United States ... just to see how much can choose or earmarking for health care ... and here's what they fell ... in the United States healthcare costs on average eight thousand five hundred and eighty dollars per person in twenty eleven ... that's more than twice as much as the runner up among the world's developed nations ... in represents a whopping seventeen point seven percent of the nation's GDP ... number two on the list is Norway or spending per capita average is five thousand six hundred and sixty nine dollars the year ... that's nine point three percent of Norway's GDP ... interesting Lee life expectancy in Norway is eighty one point four years ... nearly three years more than in the United States number three in Switzerland ... the Swiss spend on average five thousand six hundred and forty three dollars a year since and sell ... its eleven percent of GDP ... this was also have the longest life expectancy of any OECD country ... at eighty two point eight years ... of course it helps that the obesity rate among this was is an admirably low eight percent ... the Netherlands are number four on the was spending per capita five thousand ninety nine dollars on health care and are winning in among the four nations the top five thousand dollars ... the rate of spending were sets of eleven percent of GDP it ... was nearly eighty six percent of the costs covered by public funds ... us the most of any country in the server number five is Luxembourg ... health care costs They're totaled four thousand seven hundred and fifty five dollars per capita ... that's eight point two percent of GDP ... and well below the OECD average well it might seem counterintuitive the survey shows that spending more on health care doesn't mean the country's population is necessarily healthier ... nor does the cost of healthcare directly impacted by weather country's healthcare system ... is largely private or heavily social it's ... often the more important factors for such things as when the ball hospitals to whether a nation's citizens have basically good or for ... health happens ... obesity is one of its key factors ... in among the OECD nations ... the United States tops the list at a staggering ... twenty eight point five percent ...